Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Penguin Books
DDC/MDS
| 920 |
Description
"The ethos of family is dramatically portrayed by Denise Chong in this tale of her grandmother, brought from China as a young concubine by a sojourner to the New World, of the man's wife and the children who would be left behind, and of the author's own incredible discovery of those children six decades later." "Here is a true story, woven from letters, photographs, and memories, with more twists and turns than any novel. It is a story of the lives of one family living on two different sides of the globe: in a village in South China before and after the Communists took power, and in the gritty Chinatowns on North America's west coast. The "at-home" wife would hold sacred the honor of the family; supporting her was the concubine who sacrificed her own family in working the tea houses abroad, in "Gold Mountain." In tow was her youngest daughter, the author's mother. It was she who unlocked the past for her daughter, whose curiosity about some old photographs ultimately reunited this family, who had been divided for most of this century."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
This is a family biography, the story of a family split by an ocean and by different ways of life. It’s a sad tale of prejudice, war, and brutality, as well as of love.
Chan Sam had a wife and land in southern China in the 1920s, but word was that one could make enough money at ‘Gold
As time went on, May-ying had two baby girls. Chan wanted them educated in China, and between the two of them they had made enough money to go home for a while. When Chan Sam and May-ying returned to Canada, her daughters remained in China with Chan’s wife. They returned just in time for May-ying’s third child to be born on Canadian soil. It wasn’t the hoped for son that would have given her some prestige in the family, but another daughter- worthless in her eyes. In time, Chan Sam returned to China without May-ying to try and sire a son on his wife. This left the young May-ying in the unenviable position of financially supporting not just herself and her daughter, but Chan Sam, his wife in China, and her two daughters over there. Not to mention the costs of the mansion (by rural Chinese village standards) that Chan Sam was building in his village. That’s a lot to expect of a young woman. Even after Chan Sam returned to Canada, but had separated from May-ying, he showed up every week to collect the money she had earned. Not that he was lazy; he did back breaking work in the shingle mills and at any other job he could find. Employment was severely limited for the Chinese in North America.
May-ying was a badly damaged person. She sought solace in alcohol and gambling, and abused her daughter both physically and emotionally. I was horrified by the way she treated her, but the circumstances of May-ying’s life might have broken anyone. Thankfully, the daughter, who took the English name Winnie, had the inner reserves to survive, concentrating on school and getting away from home. She succeeded in doing so, through hard work and marriage, and brought up a great family. The author is Winnie’s second daughter.
After 50 years, the Canadian sister and the Chinese sister finally managed to meet in a 4 day visit that brought tears to my eyes. But what really hit an emotional chord was the way the Chinese family viewed May-ying: basically ignoring the money she’d sent for years, they saw her only as a very bad wife who brought only misery to Chan Sam. They were only given half the story.
It’s a very sad story of the miserable lives the Chinese in North America lived during the first half of the 20th century thanks to prejudice, and an even sadder one that as bad as those lives were, they were considered worth while because monetarily it was even worse in China. I’ve read a number of books about the Chinese in North America, and this one is the grimmest. But it’s a story I couldn’t put down and stayed up half the night reading.
Chan Sam had a wife and land in southern China in the 1920s, but word was that one could make enough money at ‘Gold
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Mountain’- Canada or the USA- for a person to set themselves up for life. So Chan Sam went to Canada to make his fortune. He didn’t like being alone- there were very, very few women in the Chinatowns at the time. He acquired a concubine from China: a 17 year old May-ying, who was basically sold. Chan didn’t have the money to pay for her, so he made a deal with a tea house owner: the girl would be Chan’s concubine, but during the days and evenings she would work at the tea house to pay off her own purchase price. That’s not an auspicious start for a relationship. As time went on, May-ying had two baby girls. Chan wanted them educated in China, and between the two of them they had made enough money to go home for a while. When Chan Sam and May-ying returned to Canada, her daughters remained in China with Chan’s wife. They returned just in time for May-ying’s third child to be born on Canadian soil. It wasn’t the hoped for son that would have given her some prestige in the family, but another daughter- worthless in her eyes. In time, Chan Sam returned to China without May-ying to try and sire a son on his wife. This left the young May-ying in the unenviable position of financially supporting not just herself and her daughter, but Chan Sam, his wife in China, and her two daughters over there. Not to mention the costs of the mansion (by rural Chinese village standards) that Chan Sam was building in his village. That’s a lot to expect of a young woman. Even after Chan Sam returned to Canada, but had separated from May-ying, he showed up every week to collect the money she had earned. Not that he was lazy; he did back breaking work in the shingle mills and at any other job he could find. Employment was severely limited for the Chinese in North America.
May-ying was a badly damaged person. She sought solace in alcohol and gambling, and abused her daughter both physically and emotionally. I was horrified by the way she treated her, but the circumstances of May-ying’s life might have broken anyone. Thankfully, the daughter, who took the English name Winnie, had the inner reserves to survive, concentrating on school and getting away from home. She succeeded in doing so, through hard work and marriage, and brought up a great family. The author is Winnie’s second daughter.
After 50 years, the Canadian sister and the Chinese sister finally managed to meet in a 4 day visit that brought tears to my eyes. But what really hit an emotional chord was the way the Chinese family viewed May-ying: basically ignoring the money she’d sent for years, they saw her only as a very bad wife who brought only misery to Chan Sam. They were only given half the story.
It’s a very sad story of the miserable lives the Chinese in North America lived during the first half of the 20th century thanks to prejudice, and an even sadder one that as bad as those lives were, they were considered worth while because monetarily it was even worse in China. I’ve read a number of books about the Chinese in North America, and this one is the grimmest. But it’s a story I couldn’t put down and stayed up half the night reading.
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LibraryThing member John
A story about the Chinese experience in Canada, specifically British Columbia, from the 1920s forward, interspersed with life in China as emigrants try to make a life in Canada while retaining their links to family and values and ways of life in the old country. Basically the story of how Hing
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(Winnie) came to grips with the history of her father and mother, and finally met the family that for years she had never known in China. Well written, and interesting for its descriptions of Chinese communities in BC, principally Vancouver and on the Island, Nanaimo. Canadians have little to be proud of in this aspect of our history for its discrimination not only tolerated, but actively abetted by the governments. In the end, though, I found it a bit too much of a sameness, and I did not finish the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member corgidog2
Excellent book about Canadian Chinese and the "old ways". As good as, or better than, the Joy Luck Club.
LibraryThing member autumnesf
I picked up this book after reading another that the author had written. This one is a story about the Chinese experience in Canada. The family is split between China and Canada and the story follows both sides. There are visits back and forth. There is alot to learn about the immigrant experience
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in Canada and the harshness they lived through. It was also interesting to read about how each side of the family viewed the other side and the misconceptions. A very good read. I recommend this one and will make a bigger effort to read more about the Chinese experience in the US. Show Less
LibraryThing member thorag
This book was a real page-turner. I was fascinated by the historical account of Southern China and Vancouver in the early part of the 20th century. The fact that this is a biography of the author's grandparents made it all the more poignant and unbelievable.
LibraryThing member readerbynight
The Concubine's Children is a wonderfully crafted non-fiction book written by the granddaughter of the main characters. Chan Sam, a peasant, leaves his wife behind in China in order to go to the fabled "Golden Mountain" as Western Canada was refered to at the time (1913). He brings with him his
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Concubine, a beautiful but no-nonsense girl, to British Columbia, living in Vancouver's Chinatown. Expectations are high that Canada was a land of riches. All spare money was sent back to Chan Sam's wife in China, and the Concubine and her children did without. The wife, Huangbo, raised their son & two daughters by the concubine in China; May-ying, the concubine worked hard as a tea-room waitress to earn money to support both the family in China and her husband and their own two children. Life was harsh, there were moves from Vancouver to Victoria's Chinatown. Gambling became a problem particularly with May-ying. This is a historical account of a time in the Lower Mainland of B.C. that every Canadian and American should read, there is so much history both of early B.C. and China, with China occupied by Japan, then the rule of Mao Tse Tung. A few years ago, the narrator Denise and her mother made the trip to China to visit what relatives they had there, and so the two families finally came together. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and read it when it first came out (about 1989; it has now been reprinted) and still keep my precious first copy paperback; I've loaned it or bought one for some friends through, that is how much I care about it. I have now read it a few times. Highly Recommended. A quote from Denise Chong: "I didn't realize the extent of it, until I did my history, that my grandparents lived in Canada at a time when they could not participate in White society." Show Less
LibraryThing member kakadoo202
i could not connect with all the different people at this time. I might have to give it some rest and try it again at some other time.
LibraryThing member LynnB
This is a well written, moving book about a family separated on two continents. It's a biography of Chan Sam and his family. He lives in B.C. with his concubine and one of their children. In China are his wife, their son and two of his daughters by his concubine. This is a family' s story, but also
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a story of Canada in the 1930s and 40s. It talks of immigration rules, prejudices, racism, the Depression. The author (Chan Sam's grand-daughter) has done a wonderful job of situating well-drawn characters in their proper historical setting. This will be of interest to history buffs as well as anyone who likes a good family story. Show Less
LibraryThing member LiteraryChanteuse
What a compelling story!!! It gave an insight to a bit of history of both the Asian community here in Vancouver BC, Canada and the conflicts they dealt with that were unraveling in china. Many were caught between two worlds and powerless to make changes in either.
LibraryThing member EvelynBernard
The Concubine's Children is the true story of a family cleaved in two for the sake of a father’s dream. In 1913, Chan Sam left an “at home” wife in China to earn a living in “Gold Mountain”, British Columbia. Eleven years later, May-ying, the wilful, seventeen-year-old concubine he
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bought, sight unseen, travels to join him where she labours in the tea houses of west coast Chinatowns to support the family in Canada, and the one in China. It is not the story of any particularly remarkable person or event. It is rather ordinary actually - something that many Chinese-Canadians experienced. It was the concubine’s third daughter, the author’s mother, who unlocked the past for her daughter whose curiosity about some old photographs ultimately reunited a family divided. The Concubine's Children is an inspiring story of unquestioning sacrifice. Show Less
LibraryThing member Zumbanista
A really well written and moving family memoir. Engrossing, thought provoking and true to life depictions of the hard times suffered by Chinese immigrants in Canada. Peopled with flawed, unlikeable, superstitious and stubborn characters. The scenes of early life in Vancouver, the first family in
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China and the many sacrifices of the Canadian second family were fascinating and heartbreaking. Also interesting was the Communist Revolution and its result on the family members. So well researched and thoroughly revealing, I rate it 5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member annhepburn
I'm always fascinated to see peoples' full life stories. This book could have only included teen/young woman May-ying and what her life was like; or it could have just included her later adulthood; or her somewhat terrifying turn as the author's fearsome Grandmother. But instead we watch May-ying,
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the titular concubine, and see how she progresses from one stage of like to another, ultimately bringing a better understanding of what a person's whole life looks like. I learned so much about Chinese history and culture, about the founding of British Columbia, the original Chinatowns, and specifically so much about this one convoluted family tree. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
This is a biography of three generations of a Chinese-Canadian family. Chan Sam came to Canada and left his Chinese wife at home, but soon brought a beautiful younger Chinese woman to Canada as his concubine: May-ying. May-ying gave Chan Sam 3 daughters; before the 3rd one (Hing) came along, the
I thought this was very good. It covers a good portion of the 20th century, so it also includes a bit of history of how Chinese people were treated in Canada, and North America, in general, over that century. The story was interesting, and it did primarily focus on the most interesting person, in my opinion, May-ying. There was also a nice set of photos included – photos of those in both Canada and China.
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other two had been taken back to China to live with Chan Sam’s Chinese wife. Hing, the daughter who stayed in Canada, was mostly neglected by her drinking, gambling mother. Hing’s daughter, Denise, is the author of the book. The book does focus mostly on May-ying, but it also tells the story of the family in China, as well. I can’t recall the phrase in the book, but something along the lines of a split family. I thought this was very good. It covers a good portion of the 20th century, so it also includes a bit of history of how Chinese people were treated in Canada, and North America, in general, over that century. The story was interesting, and it did primarily focus on the most interesting person, in my opinion, May-ying. There was also a nice set of photos included – photos of those in both Canada and China.
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Subjects
ISBN
0140254277 / 9780140254273